We wrote about single-legged, two-legged, four-legged and even six-legged robots, but scientists from the Japanese Keio University and Tokyo University went a step further in their latest project: A 32 – legged Robot. His name is Mochibot, the spherical robot moves telescopically on each leg, moving it where it should. When he must stay still, he aligns all his legs, keeping them stable on the ground. This movement resembles a creature similar to a sea urchin.

Each of Mochibot's legs consists of three sliding rails. They can extend up to a maximum of 1.6 feet long or decrease to half that. The advantage of using this method of locomotion is that, theoretically, it should significantly facilitate moving around difficult surfaces. This is because Mochibot can be essentially deformed when traveling through the terrain, thereby raising it upside down (pun intended!) On robots that have stuck, balancing on fewer legs. It may also possibly risk losing or damaging many legs while maintaining your ability to move. The robot legs can be further modified to include cameras, sensors or sampling devices for taking measurements.

The unusual shape of the Mochibot robot is referred to as rhombic triacontedone, a polyhedron with 32 vertices and 30 faces made of rhombuses. It weighs 22 pounds, including batteries, and can carry the load in the central part. Is a robot like this ever going to be launched as a commercial product? Perhaps it is too early to say that, although we can certainly see potential applications in search and rescue missions, military transport, and possibly even exploration of other planets. With this in mind, the scientists who created it plan further experiments with different types of terrain. If Mochibot can successfully climb the slopes or roll over uneven, rocky surfaces, it will be interesting to see where the project comes from.

Researchers recently presented a work describing a work titled "Continuous shape changing the locomotion of a 32-legged spherical robot" at the International Intelligent Robot Conference (IROS 2018) in Madrid, Spain.